Today, aircraft typically include a flight control system which allows automatic control of the aircraft for improved aircraft handling. In this regard, flight control systems generally seek to achieve control of an aircraft's velocity, attitude and position by controlling the aircraft aerodynamic control surfaces and/or the thrust provided by the aircraft's engines. Flight control systems typically include flight, navigation, engine and system displays for pilot information, control devices for pilot interaction, computer systems for flight management and control, including flight guidance using autopilot (AP) and autothrottle (ATHR), sensors for measuring aircraft states, and actuators for executing commands. Typically, a flight control system allows a pilot to fly an aircraft in a manual mode, where the pilot uses a stick or yoke and pedals to control the aircraft, in a managed mode, where a pre-programmed flight plan is used to control the aircraft, and in an automatic mode, where a flight control unit controls the aircraft, and in which the autopilot/autothrottle calculates control signals which are executed by the flight control unit.
One of a pilot's tasks is to monitor and control the energy level of an aircraft to maintain the aircraft at an appropriate energy level throughout the flight phase to keep the aircraft's flight path, speed, thrust and configuration, or to recover the aircraft from a low energy or high energy situation, i.e., from being too slow and/or too low, or being too fast and/or too high. The level of energy that an aircraft has is a function of various flight parameters and their rate of change, including airspeed and speed trend, altitude and vertical speed (or flight path angle), aircraft configuration (i.e., drag caused by speed brakes, slats/flaps and/or landing gear), and thrust level. Controlling the aircraft energy level requires continuously controlling the flight controls. Autopilot and flight director modes, aircraft instruments, warnings and protections are designed to assist the pilot in controlling an aircraft's energy level.
The phrase “energy of an aircraft” is understood herein to mean the total energy of an aircraft, i.e., the sum of the kinetic energy and the potential energy of an aircraft. The principal devices for controlling and modulating the energy of an aircraft are the aircraft's engines (push and pull back), controlling aircraft surfaces, such as the air-brakes (spoilers), and the aircraft's wheel brakes (for ground phases). The solution provided by the present invention relates to all phases of the operation of an aircraft, i.e., on the ground (i.e., taxiing, takeoff and landing) and in flight (i.e., climbing, cruising, descending and approaching landing). Information related to the control of an aircraft's kinetic energy is typically distributed in the aircraft cockpit in the following way: (i) a throttle lever for controlling engine thrust; (ii) a lever for deploying the air-brakes or any element for controlling the drag on an aircraft; (iii) a lever for controlling an aircraft's wheel brakes; (iv) levers for thrust reversers for each engine; (v) switches and/or buttons for selecting various push modes; and (vi) switches and/or buttons for the activation of the ATHR (i.e., the autothrottle for aircraft thrust).
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2014/0346280, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a system for controlling an aircraft control parameter, such as one which is a function of aircraft energy. The system includes a control interface with a mobile element configured to move on a travel, of which at least two portions are separated by a neutral position, a return element for returning the mobile element back to the neutral position when it is not actuated, an interaction element, and a control unit configured to memorize an item of information corresponding to a first position of the mobile element at an instant of activation of the interaction element. The control unit is also configured to generate a set point of the aircraft control parameter, as a function of a control associated with the first position of the mobile element for which the information has been memorized, or a current position of the mobile element, when this current position is situated on the same portion of travel as the first position and is more remote than the latter from the neutral position.